PRAISE ARISING FROM PRESSURE
J. Taylor
Jonah 2: 1, 2, 7–9; Acts 16: 25
I thought it would encourage us to look at these passages as setting forth the way in which the praise of God ascends to Him out of circumstances extraordinarily trying to the flesh. We are reminded of the Lord’s word to the woman in John 4 as to the worship of God, “Neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem”. No, it is not a question of place but of the state of the worshippers—“They ... must worship him in spirit and truth”.
These three men furnish us with examples of that state of soul which answers to God’s mind, and that not in easy but extremely trying, indeed unparalleled circumstances. Certainly Jonah’s position was a unique one although it was a fish “prepared”; it is well to note that he had to accept the judgment of God, denoted in the “waves”. They were more powerful than the men’s oars, and were God’s means of thwarting Jonah’s self-will. Jonah accepted the judgment of God. God had anticipated him, and had prepared a fish to swallow up Jonah. In that way it was a vessel in God’s hand for the preservation of His servant, but, though an instrument of salvation, it was also one of discipline to him. Jonah had to learn in those extraordinary circumstances the bitterness of his own way, what folly it was. But in learning he turned to God—“Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God”. Jehovah had not ceased to be his God. He prayed to God out of the fish’s belly. What extraordinary circumstances! Yet the work of God in him was such as to enable him to recognise Jehovah as his God at the bottom of the Mediterranean, for he says, “I went down to the bottoms of the mountains”.
The circumstances were not great enough to prevent his crying to God; the light was not dimmed, rather the reverse—Jehovah is before his soul, “Jehovah his God”; as Paul says, “My God”. Jonah cries out of the fish’s belly—“I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me”. I want to notice that among other things the worship of God is not affected by outward circumstances. It is the state of soul He is concerned about; circumstances may be used to bring to account, but what He thinks of is His own product that He has formed within. It is that formation He takes account of. So Jehovah heard. Then Jonah says, “Thou heardest my voice”, not only prayer, but “my voice”. It was altogether outside the range of science, it could not be heard naturally, but Jehovah heard his voice; it was pleasing to Him—“Let me hear thy voice”, Song of Songs 2: 14. He loves to hear it, and Jonah is conscious of that, and so he says, “When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord”.
There was first the affliction and then he begins to faint in such unparalleled surroundings, consciously alive in the fish’s belly. But, “I remembered Jehovah” overcame the fainting—
“And my prayer came in unto thee, into thy holy temple”. Though he is in the fish’s belly, his prayer finds its way into God’s temple. It is not an outward visible building, but ourselves, the church; it is not controlled by place. God’s work in the soul finds connection with His temple. So it must be a prayer devoid of all selfish motives to find a place there, in His holy temple. There was no disparity between the prayer and the temple. The product of the work of God in him becomes at home in that which is of God. I speak of that because of what holy prayer is. God is before his soul.
Now look at verse 9—“I will sacrifice … I will pay that which I have vowed”. He resolved to do that, so God brought about a worshipper, not only a servant. The circumstances in which we are help us not only to be in subjection to the Lord, but to be constituted worshippers. The result is a voice, not only in prayer, but of thanksgiving, not words but a voice. God loves that. Hence our hymns afford means by which our voices are heard by God, tuned by the Spirit and mingled together by Him.
So I go on to Psalm 22, where we get a parallel; our Lord is heard from the horns of the buffaloes. Think of such circumstances; caught in the horns of the buffaloes. That is where He was. But He says, Thou hast heard me from there. Again it is not outward position that is of account, but state. The Lord was heard from there. Now the next verse, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee”. Now He is in the circumstances of praise in which He desires to be, leading the praise in the midst. He declares what He knew infinitely. He prayed to the Father from the cross. Now in resurrection He declares the name to His brethren, so that all may be in accord with His thoughts. There is no discipline in singing. The praise of the assembly is conducted by the chief Musician, and God now dwells amid the praises of the assembly. That is where praise is henceforth.
And so it occurred to me that these cases in which worshippers are seen, show us that our outward circumstances, though used in discipline, do not interfere with God’s obtaining from us what He seeks—“The Father seeks such”, John 4: 23.
I might add that in Revelation 11: 1, the worshippers are measured, not only the temple and the altar, but the worshippers themselves. That is they correspond with the temple, all divinely measured. It is very comforting.
So I would link on Acts 16 as a further illustration of praise ascending to God from circumstances of adversity. It says, “Paul and Silas, in praying, were praising God with singing”. They were conscious of need but their prayer led to praise, and the prisoners listened to them. And God was listening too. The praises of the two martyrs found their way into the holy temple and
were fragrant to Him. Their prison, so to say, becomes a temple; there is complete triumph and the prisoners get the benefit of it. The words show it was not forced on their ears; they listened. It was a pleasant sound.
This is all intended to encourage us to see what a yield there is to God in adverse circumstances. They are intended to bring that about. The “sweet psalmist of Israel” was a great sufferer. “Remember for David all his affliction”. Great sufferers spiritually are great singers. In them God gets His pleasure.
It will help to have this before us. The circumstances here are extraordinary but they have served to draw out the sympathy of the saints; I speak from personal knowledge. You are much on our hearts. But it is the divine yield, that which is for God, that is the great thing, and we are encouraged to believe that it is so with you, that He is getting His yield, and that it will be so.
St.Pol,
19 October 1919